Morania Fire
Morania #130 was a 4000-ton, freight barge which operated on the Great Lakes. On October 29, 1951, it was carrying of gasoline, when it was pushed by the diesel tug M/V Dauntless #12 into the path of the 454-foot steamer Penobscot – which was proceeding seaward empty after unloading grain at Buffalo, New York – on the Buffalo River. When the steamer backed away, a spark ignited the gasoline aboard the barge, resulting in a fire which killed 11 sailors, including two from Penobscot. The fire burned for several days as thousands of spectators watched.
It was the worst marine disaster in Buffalo in the 20th century.
